


The Very Beginning

by RiverFae



Series: Elithea Cousland Collection [1]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-08-09 23:48:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20125864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiverFae/pseuds/RiverFae
Summary: A series about the life of Elithea Cousland, a mischeivious noble who eventually became a hero, and her best friend, Ashara Loren; with no clue as to how their relationship would change the future of the Couslands, and Ferelden.





	The Very Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I'm completely new to AO3, so please be gentle! I'm still trying to work everything out. :)
> 
> Please enjoy!

Ashara ran giggling away from her Mother, Suranna, who barely looked up from the book she was teaching her eldest son to read.

“Stay safe, Ash, don’t go too far and be back here before sunset!”

The seven year old didn’t even acknowledge her mother's words, the light skirt of her little blue dress flying around her small legs as she left the Gnawed Noble and darted into Denerim’s market square. A couple of coppers were pressed into her sweaty little palm as she looked around with wide eyes. It was SO BIG. The sheer amount of possibilities rendered little Ashara still for a moment.

“Are you going to stand there all day?”

Ashara spun around toward the source of the loud voice, and the small girl found herself face to face with another young girl, around her age. Her eyes were a piercing ice blue, with long black hair scraped back into a messy ponytail. She was missing a front tooth, and her stature was proud and impetuous, as though she had never had to say sorry for anything in her life. She looked to Ashara with a small frown.

Ashara looked up to her with wide amber eyes. She clasped her hands together and looked down at the ground, suddenly nervous under the girls stare. “N-no! I wanted to look at the stalls. My brother told me that one of them sells pretty rocks.”

The girl laughed and shook her head. “Pft, that’s boring. Everyone knows the best one is the one that sells the knives and stuff! I’m going to ask my Daddy for one! But I’ve already seen it. I don’t need to see it again.” She turned around decisively and started walking in the opposite direction.

Ashara was confused for a moment, frozen in place from the strange interaction. The girl only took five steps before she turned around to Ashara with an exasperated sigh. “Well? Are you coming or not?”

It was that very moment that changed the lives of both the young girls. A small, fleeting moment upon which so much pivoted. The small girl looked longingly to the stalls, but for some reason that she would never be able to explain, she looked back to the impetuous girl, filled with such life. And she followed her.

The girl gave her a toothless grin and began to run off through the market square. “By the way… I’m Elithea.”

A breathless Ashara grinned at her, and the two ran off toward the city walls.

\----

The stars were just starting to shine when the two girls returned to the market. They had spent the day running through the fields that surrounded Denerim’s walls. Hungry and thirsty, they walked through the square, small hands clasping one another with a childish innocence, as Elithea talked at Ashara incessantly.

It was easy to be Elithea’s friend, Ashara thought. You didn’t have to do much. She talked a lot.

She was watching Elithea as she pushed open the door to the Gnawed Noble, pulling Ashara behind her. Despite Elithea’s family high born among nobility and having an estate of their own, she insisted on getting Ashara back to the tavern first, even though Ashara had tried to argue it... She had learned very quickly not to argue with her new friend. She was scary.

As they entered the Tavern, the two froze at the volume of shouting adults, who all turned to look at them. Their absence had obviously been noted. There was a moment of silence, before Suranna burst through the throng, grabbing at Ashara. “Ash, where have you been?! We’ve been worried sick!” She said, checking over Ashara as though looking for injuries. 

Despite Ashara being pulled away, Elithea did not let go of her newfound friends hand. She did not let go even as her own father, Bryce Cousland, rushed forward. Instead she squealed with delight. “Daddy! I made a new friend, look! This is Ashara!” She said, pulling Ashara’s hand slightly. Little Ashara was a bit overwhelmed by all the attention, squeezing Elithea’s hand as she looked down at her scuffed shoes.

Eli looked concerned, getting closer to Ashara and smiling, her voice lowering. “You don’t have to be scared. Daddy isn’t mad at you.” She said. Ashara looked up to Elithea and gave a quivering smile, taking in some of the other girls irrefutable confidence. Bryce watched the scene with great interest, his eyebrows furrowed. He smiled at Ashara. “Indeed not. I gather Eli took you beyond the wall into the fields? Where she was expressly told not to go?” He said, with an eyebrow raised at his daughter.

Elithea’s face fell slightly. “I’m sorry, Daddy! I just wanted to show Ash my favourite tree so we could tell secrets! I promise I won’t do it again! Please, please let me go out with Ashara again tomorrow!” The girl’s voice was quite distressed, and Ashara saw Bryce’s eyebrows rise slightly. “Alright, pup. Calm down. You can play with Ashara tomorrow, if that’s alright with Ashara’s parents.” He looked up to Ashara’s mother, who looked shocked at the turn of events. Bryce’s attention turned toward her was enough to knock her out of it, as she nodded furiously. “Of course, my Teryn. That isn’t an issue.” She said, curtseying ever so slightly.

“See, Pup. You may play tomorrow. Now, say goodnight to Ashara.” He said, smiling as he stood up from his crouched position beside his child. Elithea jumped on Ashara and hugged her tightly. Ashara blinked but hugged her friend tightly back. Bryce’s gaze softened as he looked at the girls. As they pulled apart, he gently picked up his daughter who threw her arms around his neck. Ashara looked up at them, her honeyed eyes wide. 

“I hope to see you soon, little Ashara.” Bryce said in his deep, soothing voice, earning a tentative smile from the little girl as she stepped back against her mother’s skirt shyly. Bryce chuckled, holding onto his daughter tightly as they left the Gnawed Tavern, Elithea waving wildly over her Father's shoulder, grinning her gap-toothed smile.

As soon as they left, Suranna pulled her daughter up to their rented rooms, where her brothers were eating their dinner Her Father, Bann Eldred, was poring over some sheafs of official looking paper, his eyes focused. Suranna gave Eldred a significant look, before sitting Ashara down to eat her dinner. Ashara was only pleased that she wasn’t being told off, so she ate gratefully, going to bed after her reading lesson. She fell into an exhausted but happy sleep. She remembered her parents talking long into the night, and she remembered her name being mentioned, but she didn’t remember why.


End file.
